


post-traumatic.

by jazthestampede (princejellychu)



Category: Black Panther (2018), Captain America (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: Alternate Universe, Bucky Barnes Recovering, Bucky Barnes-centric, Healing, Mental Health Issues, Not Avengers: Infinity War Part 1 (Movie) Compliant, Other, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Pokemon, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, White Wolf Bucky Barnes, i reject this canon and replace it with my own
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-06-09
Updated: 2019-10-09
Packaged: 2020-04-05 20:57:42
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 916
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19048264
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/princejellychu/pseuds/jazthestampede
Summary: bucky barnes gets by with a little help from his friends.





	1. Chapter 1

Bucky doesn’t know what to do with the–Pokémon? Is it a Pokémon? –in front of him. He’s never seen anything like it; whatever it is, it’s fucking _huge_ , a little taller than both him and Steve. And that helmet it has, it’s nothing like a Cubone wearing its mother’s skull–no, this was _forced_ onto the poor thing.

“Shuri,” he breathes, _“what the hell is that?”_

“I’m glad you asked.” Shuri grins and gestures toward the Pokémon, “This, is a Type: Null,” she explains, “They were found frozen in the wreckage in Siberia.”

Bucky tenses, “They were,” he whispers, “they were experimenting with Pokémon, too?”

Shuri nods, “I’m afraid so,” she lifts her hand and moves to touch Type: Null and it backs away, growling, “I’ve been working on solving the mystery around the helmet on its head, but it won’t trust me. And that’s where you come in, White Wolf.”

Bucky lifts an eyebrow, “And what am _I_ supposed to do with it?”

“You two have something in common,” Shuri grins and places a hand on his arm, “intuition tells me that it’ll get along much better with you than with me.” She places a Poké Ball in his hand and walks away.

“Good luck!” She yells back at him.

Bucky’s eyes trail from the back of Shuri’s head, catching a flash of pink next to her, and over to the Pokémon staring dead at him, and down to the ball in his hand before sighing.

“I haven’t had a Pokémon in more than seventy years,” he muses and lifts his head to look at Type: Null, “but I guess I should give you a nickname, huh?” Type Null growls, but it’s not as deep and threatening as the one it gave Shuri.

 _Maybe she’s onto somethin’,_ he thinks. “I gotta think of somethin’ good. How about…Duke?” Type: Null just gives him a blank, beady stare, but doesn’t growl at him. Bucky nods, “Duke it is, then.”

 

* * *

 

Type: Null— _Duke, its name is Duke now_ —doesn’t make much of a fuss, content to watch Bucky feed the goats and entertain the village children from its new favorite spot, under Bucky’s tree.

Still hasn’t warmed up to him, though. Not that Bucky blames them. He wouldn’t warm up to a strange, one armed man quickly either.

 _“Ingcuka,”_ one of the children calls, scrambling toward him once she sees Duke under the tree, “What kind of Pokémon is _that?_ ” she asks, voice soft and full of wonder.

Bucky shrugs, a small smile on his face, “Not sure, myself.” He answers, his Xhosa is passable at best, but clear enough for her to understand.

“Can I pet it?”

He glances at Duke, now watching him and the little girl with a curiosity in their eyes, “if they let you, but be careful.” No sooner than the words are out of his mouth, the little girl takes off in a jog toward the tree. Duke doesn’t move, just watches the girl closely. When she gets close enough, she stretches out her hand and Duke moves to sniff the outstretched fingers before rubbing their helmet against her palm.

“I’ll be damned.” Bucky mutters. He hears a giggle right next to his ear and whirls around to catch a flash of pink out of the corner of his eye. “This was _your_ idea all along, wasn’t it?” he chuckles.


	2. kindred.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> january 29th, 1944. the one day he can't forget.

_January 29 th, 1944._

_Falling._

_He’s falling._

_Even with the insulation from the jacket, it’s still so cold—the kind of cold that makes his lips crack, makes his tears freeze right there on his cheeks._

_Screaming. He’s still screaming. He’d long since let go of the bar, but he can still see the train, can still hear Steve’s anguished cries._

_“Bucky, NO!”_

_Why can he still hear Steve? Why can he still see the train?_

_What did Zola do to him?_

_Burning._

_Everything burns. His eyes are still wide open, frozen and burning right along with the rest of him. He catches sight of something falling next to him and oh god why does his arm burn so—_

_A hand. A blue sleeve. Blue fingers. Blood, there’s so much blood—_

_The wind howls in his ears._

_Why, why, God why can’t he just close his eyes?_

_Something growls, there’s a weight on his chest oh god—_

Bucky’s eyes snap open, wide and haunted. He bites his tongue so hard he smells the blood welling up long before he tastes it.

The wind howls and he’s still _falling_.

The growling continues and the weight gets heavier, and the terrible _whoosh_ of wind bleeds into a low growl. When life comes into focus, he finds himself staring into a pair of beady, gray-blue eyes.

“Duke?” he croaks. Duke continues to rest their full body weight on him; perfectly calm, and staring into Bucky’s soul like they can see him falling too. Bucky lifts his arm; fingers trembling and slowly reaches for Duke who lifts their heavy helmet up and lets Bucky run his knuckles against the smooth gray fur on their neck.

Bucky feels the tension slowly bleeding out of him. _You’re safe, you’re alive, you’re warm. You aren’t falling, you aren’t in that ravine anymore. You’re here, with Duke, safe in Wakanda._

Safe.

He’s safe.

 

* * *

 

 

Duke doesn’t move from their perch on top of Bucky’s chest, regarding the man with a level stare even long after he’s fallen back asleep.

The human is just like them.

He has terrors, too.

**Author's Note:**

> me and my ideas, man. i've been cooking this up since i saw detective pikachu a few weeks ago.  
> thank y'all for reading!


End file.
